I received this text yesterday and I thought I’d share my answer, in case more of you are in similar situations. “Hi Suzie. I’m looking for your advice, please. We need to buy a birt ...
I recently had a lovely conversation with my sister-in-law about boys toys and I discovered that she was passionate about gender neutral toys and how some toys are marketed just for girls. After our c ...
What a year it has been! Us, Irish are very bad a boasting about our achievements and I’m finding it hard to write this blog, but, at the same time, I think it’s important to share how far ...
Gross Motor Skills are the movement and coordination of larger body parts like arms and legs. For most children, this comes naturally, but for others, it needs to be encouraged and helped along. Gross ...
Hi there I was looking for something for a baby girl for her christening. I have searched your website but can’t quite see anything. I wanted a special wooden toy or gift but was looking ...
My sister has a 3-year-old son and a 1-year-old daughter. During term time, her daughter gets to sleep in peace in the morning as her son is at playschool. However, now that he is on his school holida ...
This week Arklu (the company that makes Lottie dolls) launched their first Brownie doll and some Brownie accessories to go with her. It’s lovely to see the relationship between the World Assoc ...
When I opened my online children’s toy shop nearly 3 years ago now, I was determined not to categorize my toys into gender specific toys. After all, brothers and sisters play with each other’s toy ...
If you haven’t already figured out, I’m a huge lover of wooden toys. However, as with all things wooden, the wood needs to come from trees and if we don’t act responsibly, our forest ...
Last month my 5-year-old attended a Shopkins themed birthday party and she came home buzzing from it. Although I don’t stock Shopkins, I like posting blogs that parents can get inspiration fro ...
Woo Hoo, the summer holidays are nearly here. I love the lazy mornings and not having to rush and get out the door by 8.30am however, by 11am, my kids are getting restless and it’s time to decid ...
Yesterday (the 21st June) was World Music Day so I thought I’d write a short blog highlighting some of the musical instruments I stock for babies and small children. Music is important for al ...
It doesn’t feel like 6 years ago when we were preparing our, then 19 month old, daughter for the arrival of a baby. Time has really flown but I remember those days very well and I received som ...
I can’t believe that Father’s Day is just around the corner again (18th June). It feels like only a few short months ago when I wrote the blog “15 Gifts for Father’s Day that cost less than ...
The summer holidays are just around the corner and I know we are all hoping for gorgeous weather, but the reality is that we live in Ireland! This means, that we’ll have more than our fair share ...
My daughters are aged 5 and 7 and they love anything that glitters. My husband, who is in his 40s, however, can’t cope with glitter!! He complains that it goes everywhere and ends up in his food ...
I recently received an e-mail from a customer whose Father in Law wanted to buy some new toys to be kept in their house for when their one and a half year old grand daughter came to visit. My customer ...
Hi Suzie, Its my god daughters Birthday this week and she is heading to America in a couple of weeks, so I wanted to get her some bits and pieces for the plane journey. Would you have any travel games ...
Every year, my sister-in-law hosts an amazing Easter party for all the cousins to get together and have some fun. She is a brilliant event organiser and puts a lot of work and creativity into her part ...
Have you ever played a great trick on someone? I remember, as a young adult acquiring a ‘You’ve been Clamped’ sticker for a car window. Myself and my friends played numerous tricks o ...
Easter is just around the corner now and it’s becoming more common to give gifts, often instead of a chocolate egg but sometimes with one. I’ve put together a little list of some Easter gi ...
We are just back from a trip to Disneyland Paris, so I thought I’d post up some helpful tips we received before leaving and some that we learnt along the way, in case any of you have upcoming tr ...
I think most of us can agree that a lot of children in Ireland have too many toys, my own children included. There is so much choice over what to play with, that they don’t know where to start o ...
A friend of mine, who works as a Speech and Language Therapist, recently suggested that I should write a blog highlighting some of my toys that would encourage language development. I was reluctant at ...
I am just back from a weekend break in Scotland with my husband and two daughters aged 5 and 7. We had a lovely time. Before leaving, I supervised my children packing a small backpack each of activiti ...
I got an e-mail enquiry today looking for ideas for their child’s birthday party. Here’s what it said: Hi Susie, Looking to purchase the Scratch bookmarks again but I see they are out of ...
I regularly get questions regarding shipping/delivery, some of which aren’t answered in my Shipping and Delivery Policy, so I thought I’d address them here today. Why hasn ...
Happy New Year. I hope it’s started well for you all. I’ve had a really lovely start – super relaxing! But, I felt it was time to do some work again and what’s nicer than to re ...
So, today is #GreenThursday and tomorrow will be #BlackFriday. From today (24th November) til Sunday (26th), I’m offering a 10% discount on any orders over €60, with the following terms and co ...
On the 1st October 2014, I opened the virtual door to my online shop and I haven’t looked back. Tomorrow, I celebrate my little toy shop turning 2 and what a couple of years it has been. In a se ...
I know it’s only September, but already business is picking up as people are starting to spread the Christmas expense over a few months. Irish people spend €8.5 million each day shopping onlin ...
Last week our Parish had their annual fair and the theme was Pirates. One aspect of the fair is a fancy dress competition and so we got into the spirit of it and I made pirate costumes for my daughter ...
If you read my previous blog, you’ll know that my youngest daughter turned five last weekend and we celebrated with a small party at home. She got some really lovely gifts and I thought I’ ...
For many people, organising a kid’s birthday party in your own home is a little daunting, so I’ve put together some tips that I’ve learnt to make it easier. I hope you find them usef ...
Every year I add to my Melissa & Doug range of toys and this year is no different. When their catalogue arrives through my letter box in January, I marvel at the lovely toys they make and put toge ...
The summer holidays have just started and already my daughters are looking to watch more television. I’m not sure if it’s the same in your house, do your children need to really be encoura ...
I stock some lovely wooden toys from a German toy company called Legler. Many of my lines have been sold out for some time now but this week, I’m hoping a delivery will arrive to re-stock those ...
In less than 3 weeks, I will move from having 15 hours to do as much work as possible in, to 0 hours to try and achieve the same jobs!! The reason is that school finishes up for the summer. Don’ ...
Father’s Day is coming up (19th June 2016) and so it’s time to put some thought into what to buy your own dad or your child’s father (on their behalf). If you are like me, you have t ...
5 things to keep children happy on a long flight Personally, I love relaxing on airplanes – reading, watching movies and being served by others. Since having kids, this hasn’t happened, as the ...
Following on from last week’s well read Blog, guest blogger and owner of Popzle, Amy Sherwin, has agreed to do a follow-on blog, explaining how Popzle 3D pop-out cards have multiple uses. She wr ...
I am delighted to now be stocking Popzle cards and as I launch them on my website, I asked the owner and creative designer of Popzle to be a guest blogger, explaining how Popzle Activity Cards differ ...
What do I give as a Christening Gift? 5 Ideas for Christening Gifts I’m not sure if you’re like me and you don’t know what is really expected from you when you are invited to a Chris ...
Who are 4M? 4M is a British company that was established in 1993. Since then the company has grown in size and reputation. Known to produce top quality science kits and creative kits for older childre ...
Regularly people ask me about Lottie Dolls, so I thought I’d write a short blog entitled ‘what is a Lottie Doll?’ or ‘Who is Lottie’. I hope this blog will help answer so ...
Here’s 4 simple ways you can help small businesses without spending a cent. 1. Like their facebook business page and invite your friends to like it too. If you are on facebook, it costs nothing ...
As many of you know, my family are big kinetic sand fans and with mid term approaching, I decided to spend a little while looking online for some new ideas of things to do with our kinetic sand. I tho ...
Back in December, two people recommended to me to stock augmented reality 4D+ flashcards. Thankfully the first person showed them to me, otherwise, I wouldn’t have had a clue what they were talk ...
Often people ask me about dolls houses – so being a mother of two ‘doll loving’ girls and owning an online toyshop, I thought I’d take a few moments and write a short blog expl ...
Happy New Year! I hope 2016 is a great one for you. 2015 was my first full year in business and I’m delighted with how it went. Regularly people ask me what are my best selling toys and games, a ...
This week, I’m delighted to have a guest blogger write this blog on ‘sharing a book with your child this Christmas’. Mary Miles is a friend of mine, a mum to two little people and sh ...
About a month ago, a customer sent me an e-mail asking if I would consider stocking Kinetic Sand. I’d heard of it but I’d never seen it first hand, so I decided, before committing to stock ...
On Christmas morning, my daughters love digging into their stockings to see what Santa has left. It’s funny how what he leaves isn’t all that different from what he left me, when I was a k ...
I used to think that Irish people were particularly bad at shopping online until I read an article that said that Irish consumers spend €8.5 million euros online each day! The article, however quot ...
I recently spotted this picture on Facebook and it made me think about Halloween Costumes. If you visit my shop, you will see a selection of boy’s Halloween costumes but very few for girls. I ...
In 2009, I had my first daughter and after my maternity leave ended, I decided that I didn’t want to return to work as a Youth Work Director, so, we tightened our budget and I enjoyed being a SA ...
I know we are just entering October but it’s mad how quickly Christmas creeps up on us (and is pushed upon us). Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of Christmas and the fun and excite ...
I have just placed an order with Melissa and Doug and I’m so excited about them arriving – that I can’t keep it to myself any more! I’ve ordered a few new products to me and I& ...
Last week, I launched my ‘Free Educational Toys and Games for Schools and Pre-Schools’ promotion and I can’t get over how well it has gone down. I’ve had a lot of Montessori te ...
When was the last time you had to buy a 4 year old a gift? Do you struggle to know what to buy and how much to spend? My youngest daughter turned four recently, so I thought I’d write a blog to ...
Over the past five years, I have been part of a team that organises two large Parent and Toddler Groups in Greystones. Over that time, we have seen lots of toys enter our building and leave in black s ...
Recently I brought my daughters to visit a Fairy House that I used to visit as a child. It involved a short trek up a mountain and though a very thin path, but was worth it! When we started our adve ...
I remember waking up on Christmas Day to find a set of doll’s wooden bunk beds at the end of my bed. I was thrilled. My doll (I only remember having one) was called Irene and my sister’s d ...
Well, I’m always a little confused over what month starts summer! Is Summer May, June and July? I really should have googled this before starting to write this blog! Anyway, in my mind, summer h ...
I was browsing through a toy catalogue last week, putting together a new order of toys and I came across a retro toy that flooded me with memories. It was a plastic version of Beetle Drive. My aunt, w ...
GIVE-AWAY! Frozen figures now in stock. Let your little ones recreate scenes from the Frozen movie using these little characters – Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven! They are sold individually ...